ROVING

Spindrift is Roving’s first full-length, but the seeds were planted years ago. In its earliest incarnations, the project that’d become Roving was the duo of vocalist/guitarist Aryel Lopez and drummer Diego Gomez while the two were just 14, and they picked up bassist Eddy Siordia a couple years later. When guitarist Chase Hunter joined the band over a shared love of groups like Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins, Roving was solidified.

That shared love of the Pumpkins and Hum and such informs Spindrift. The giants of the ‘90s loom large, but they never overshadow Roving’s own sensibilities. The warbling riff that rips “Honey” open nods to Catherine Wheel, but the hook goes for pure pop euphoria; “Selfish” forces the album’s gnarliest riffs upfront, submerging Lopez’s voice under a deluge of feedback and alt-metal bite. Cuts like “Haven Blue” and single “Midnight Shimmer” might be the first time any of the modern-day grunge-gaze bands have successfully blended the lush atmospherics of shoegaze with the dirty sneering energy of grunge.

The band wrote the album over seven months, with every member contributing as much as possible, frequently even collaborating on lyrics. It feels like the work of a band operating as one; everything that worked on their 2019 EP Dreams/Memories is turned up to ten on Spindrift, and they’ve trimmed the fat. Like their labelmates Dosser and Day Aches, Roving have done something special on this LP. Spindrift doesn’t just pay homage to their heroes, it stands aside them.